"untested"

theMot

Reformed collector of junk
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Jan 22, 2012
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7,590
Fuck that description right in the ass.

Has anyone ever bought something listed as "untested" that actually worked?

Just seems like something dodgy cunts say who know their board is fried but they are trying to get a few bucks more from someone hoping it is good.
 

ChuChu Flamingo

We have purposely, trained him wrong, ...as a joke
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"untested" might as well say I tested and probably know its been fuckled with.
 

MattBlah

Baseball Star Hitter
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I made the mistake a couple of times when I started buying MVS games. Both arrived faulty. I should have known better, but sometimes a low price makes you dumb.
 

oliverclaude

General Morden's Aide
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Feb 3, 2013
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Has anyone ever bought something listed as "untested" that actually worked?

Yes, but only from Japanese sellers through YAJ (both CD's & cart media). They don't have a console, all required cables or a fitting display to "test" the game, maybe just not enough time to bother anyway, but I never got an invalid game. So I guess that's only a standard phrase, that doesn't mean much. I wouldn't trust western sellers tho.
 

PunkicCyborg

Fio's Quartermaster
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If it's a jamma pcb then yeah probably %100 broken. Love it when you see that on ebay and the sellers other auctions are working boards. Just list it as what it is. I have gotten lucky before and bought a rare board untested but cheap. Booted up to garbage but got it working with just setting it to test mode then back to game and it started working!
If it's an odd pinout pre jamma game you never know though. A lot of guys that clean out an old operators collection are not gonna build an adapter for a one off board and rather just sell it untested
 
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Pasky

Fug:DDDDD,
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It makes sense when you're buying from someone who had them in storage for 10 years or so but no longer has the equipment to play them. I've bought 'untested' items from those types of sellers and came out fine. I've also bought a couple of home consoles like that because the seller legitimately didn't have the power cords or similar and they worked fine. If I see an ebay seller selling a shitload of arcade stuff as "untested" I'm pretty sure that asshole is selling broken shit and knows what he has, and it's even funnier when he's an 'arcade vendor' but can't test them.
 

JoeAwesome

I survived Secret Santa, It wasn't Easy.,
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If it's a jamma pcb then yeah probably %100 broken. Lovebit when you see that on ebay and the sellers other auctions are working boards. Just list it as what it is. I have gotten lucky before and bought a rare board untested but cheap. Booted up to garbage but got it working with just setting it to test mode then back to game and it started working!
If it's an odd pinout pre jamma game you never know though. A lot of guys that clean out an old operators collection are not gonna build an adapter for a one off board and rather just sell it untested

I thought about this recently. What is the most I would pay for an "untested" pcb? I'd probably say 1/3 of working price if you really want it, but closer to 1/5 if I'm wavering. Any thoughts?

If I see an ebay seller selling a shitload of arcade stuff as "untested" I'm pretty sure that asshole is selling broken shit and knows what he has, and it's even funnier when he's an 'arcade vendor' but can't test them.

Except in this case. This is a no-go.
 
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Liquid Snake

I am untouchable
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"Item is untested. I have no intention or I will not open the game to test the board. It will be sold "as is". Thank you for your attention."
 

fenikso

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I'll take a chance now and again, but it had better be cheap. It's how I got my Master System earlier this year for about ten bucks.
 

MuppeT

War Room Troll
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Jan 12, 2015
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last time I bought an "untested part" was a cps2 cart.. the guy had it for $80. I offered him $30 .. and told him that this is MAX I will give him for a non working/broken game. And he agreed... now it is phoenixed and is around $200 game.

they can try as much as they want to sucker people .. but in the end they rarely succeed.
 

Tanooki

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I won't buy untested games/electronics online, in person sure if the price warrants it because I know I can't come back for it later. Odds are though far less likely an old Nintendo/Sega console/handheld cart will be busted if the exterior/pins don't show signs of being wet or worse and electronics not as much so but still it's worth a try. I've rarely picked up a dead console that way, maybe just a couple over the years, but the way I look at it -- spare/repair parts.
 

Tripredacus

Three 6 Mafia
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The "untested" LaserDisc player I bought on ebay for $10 works just fine.
 

mjmjr25

went home to be a family man
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I thought this thread was about theMot picking up craigslist girls.
 

Syn

There can be only one.
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As Someone mentioned, I've bought a few pre jamma untested boards that worked just fine.
 

Caliburn89

Kabuki Klasher
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Posts
127
Definitely 2 kinds of "untested"

1. Guy knows it's broken in some way
2. Legitimately doesn't have the means to test it.

I've sold stuff I legitimately didn't have the means to test. My parents found some GBA games in an abandonned locker and I didn't have a GBA at the time. Sold them on eBay for basically the going rate.
I've also bought stuff untested like a 1 slot MVS and some games and it worked fine, so it's just a total crapshoot.

I think #1 is more rare honestly. Most people seem to sell busted stuff as For Parts/Broken.
 

DNSDies

I LOVE HILLARY CLINTON!
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"untested" is a gamble.
At most, I'd pay 40% of the working price for it.

I bought a lot of 4 "untested" xbox 360s, and was able to get 3 of them working just fine. Had to hack them to re-marry new DVD drives to them, but I made a nice penny on the whole endeavor.

I also bought an untested PS3 CECHA motherboard to salvage replacement parts from, and it ended up not only working, but maintaining a more stable temp for longer. The hardware ID was banned, but I hacked CFW on it and overwrote it with my good hardware ID, married it to the blu ray drive and it works great.

I also bought a CPS2 board untested once (MVC1), and when I opened it, half the board was corroded from an exploded battery. I was able to salvage the 10 EPRoms and the PAL-G chip off it though, and 3 or 4 of the mask roms.
One day I'll get a dead B board and do a conversion for my own private use, since I have EPRom erasing/burning equipment.
 

Renmauzo

MS Paint Master.
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Only time I took a gamble on 'untested' was buying a lot of 4 CPS2 motherboards for 10 apiece on Yahoo Japan. The description said that he didn't have the means to test them, and so he was pricing them thinking they may be defective. All 4 worked, so now each of my CPS2 games has it's own dedicated mother board, and at 10 apiece vs. whatever they go for now (50-60?), that's a great savings.
 

ChopstickSamurai

I have earned the, right to PM Rot.,
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I tend to stay away from items listed as untested. Last time I bought anything listed as untested was for a pair of Master System controllers. They did work, but the seller neglected to state they smelled like a septic tank. Had to soak those in detergent to cut that smell.

How about that guy on eBay who refuses to open and take pics of MVS boards? Fuck that guy too.
 

Day_Man

Hardened Shock Trooper
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I wouldn't take the chance on untested either. Seems the seller is just covering his ass for when the dispute comes.
 

NeoGeoFanatic

Neo Geo Cup '98
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I have purchased a few "untested" items and they have worked fine.

I usually look at their other items on sale. Sometimes they have other PCB's listed as 'tested and working' and some as 'untested' which raises a red flag for me.

As a rule of thumb though, 'untested' generally means not working.

I tend to buy 'untested' as something to use for parts.
 

Wachenroder

Galford's Poppy Trainer
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Dec 13, 2010
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2,626
Fuck that description right in the ass.

Has anyone ever bought something listed as "untested" that actually worked?

Just seems like something dodgy cunts say who know their board is fried but they are trying to get a few bucks more from someone hoping it is good.

Believe it or not yes. In my experience more often then not, untested tends to go for cheap and usually works fine and at most needs very minor tweeks to get there,

i love untested
 

ki_atsushi

So Many Posts
No Time
For Games.
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I only buy untested if:

1) The seller doesn't sell working items of the same type.
2) The seller's feedback is 100%
 

StevenK

ng.com SFII tournament winner 2002-2023
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I'm glad a lot of people have had better experiences than I have, because for me untested has always meant broken when it arrived.

That said, if they write untested in the description but under the condition don't put it as 'for parts or not working' (most people still just put it as 'used') then paypal will still side with you if you want to return it for a full refund.
 

Caliburn89

Kabuki Klasher
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Nov 3, 2015
Posts
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They did work, but the seller neglected to state they smelled like a septic tank. Had to soak those in detergent to cut that smell.

I hate getting stuff that stinks. Most common is like cigarette or that elusive "old people" smell.

I've found that wrapping stuff in dryer sheets and putting it in a ziplock bag to be incredibly effective. It works really well on books too, you just put a few dryer sheets in between the pages and repeat until the smell is gone. Those things are like odor sponges.
 
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